ILLUMINATING THE SCREEN: CELEBRATING BLACK BRILLIANCE IN FILM ON NETFLIX

Netflix, the silver screen’s treasure trove for African American and Black cinema, exposes you to a world of historically groundbreaking and award-winning movies about Black life in all its glory – the good, the bad, the ugly, the funny and the fantastic, often embodying the biopic, the documentary, the slice-of-life, the comedic, the serious and everything in between. This article is your curated catalogue for cinema-streaming adventures that are both heart-warming and thought-provoking, that expose you to new worlds, new ideas, new perspectives, and new people – and one or two that are just heart-stopping fun.

A COMEDY TO REMEMBER: NIGHT SCHOOL

Beginning with a bang of comedy, Night School stars comedic heroes Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish in a laugh-out-loud misadventure of learning and laughter.

JOURNEY THROUGH THE STREETS OF LA WITH "TANGERINE"

Meanwhile, 2015’s Tangerine was shot entirely on an iPhone, and is an eye-popping, pixelated slapstick road trip through the seedier side of Los Angeles. It’s a rollicking, fly-on-the-wall adventure through the grey areas of LA’s lesser-understood subcultures.

THE PATH TO UNDERSTANDING: "THE BEST OF ENEMIES"

Taking place against a backdrop of the desegregation debates in North Carolina, The Best of Enemies gives us stellar performances by Taraji P Henson and Sam Rockwell in this summer’s most unlikely, surprising cross-racial drama about unlikely alliances and common ground for the common good.

THE HERO'S ESCAPE: "HARRIET"

Harriet chronicles the story of Harriet Tubman, from her enslavement to the shedding of blood as she became one of the most admired freedom fighters in US history. The film follows Tubman’s steely resolve and fearless spirit, as she organises countless runs on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds to freedom.

UNVEILING A CONSPIRACY: "THEY CLONED TYRONE"

Part mystery, part farce, They Cloned Tyrone, due out later this year, deals with an old conspiracy that bubbles up inside a Black neighbourhood with an ensemble cast including John Boyega and Jamie Foxx.

MUSICAL LEGACIES AND REVOLUTIONARY TALES

Also enriching Netflix’s Black cinema canon are documentaries and biopics, such as The Black Godfather, chronicling the life of the legendary record executive Clarence Avant, and Quincy, a rich interior portrait of the multivalent life of the music icon Quincy Jones.

EMBRACING INGENUITY: "THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND"

In the midst of adversity and with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the story of human ingenuity, the unwavering courage of a boy who dares to challenge the odds, and a community’s quest for survival from starvation.

SCI-FI MEETS SOCIAL COMMENTARY: "SEE YOU YESTERDAY"

See You Yesterday weaves together sci-fi tropes with razor-sharp social commentary, following two brilliant teenagers trying to fix the past as they grapple with the realities of personal trauma against a larger backdrop.

UNDERSTANDING ESCAPE IN CINEMA

The Theme of Escape in Black Cinema

Running through many of these films, in some form or another, is the idea of escape: from society, from enslavement, from personal hell, from the literal shackles that chains a lead character on the floor. Whether it’s the historical drama Harriet (2019) about the American hero and escaped slave Harriet Tubman, or They Cloned Tyrone (2019), a sci-fi noir thriller about two outsiders from the hood who experience police violence and realise they have to run from their current lives in search of something better, there are many facets to the idea of escape, both the physical act of fleeing and the more figurative act of flourishing, thinking and speaking freely, and battling for justice.

These stories embody that tradition, pointing like a birthmark to the many other escape stories not yet told, and it reminds us of the possibility that a quiet desire to be free can burn with such intensity in a soul that the wish will come true. If the Black experience matters to you as much as the Black imagination, Netflix’s line-up will be a queer gift of stories as instructional as they are entertaining, and escape as resonant as it is rueful.

In a world that seems to always need more understanding and empathy, these films serve as light beacons of storytelling brilliance, inviting audiences to escape into worlds familiar and not, and perhaps find something of ourselves in other people’s stories. For inspiration, for education, or because you simply want to watch a good movie — we hope to help you find whatever it is you’re looking for with this selective list of Black movies on Netflix. Because, mostly importantly, this list offers us all a lens through which we are perhaps all a little more able to see our shared humanity.